Day 1

The Outsiders Lesson Plan

Discussion of Thought Questions

1

How does Two-Bit explain a "fair fight"? What does it reveal about the way that Ponyboy and the members of his gang live?

(5 min)

Two-Bit explains that fighting without weapons is a way to blow off steam, and that often the person who gets beaten up deserves it—for causing trouble for another person, as when Dally cuts Tim Shepard's tires—and there's no bad blood between the two. This reveals the energy that some gang members, like Dally, have, and the way that they differentiate between friends and enemies. Among friends, they have a value system. Among enemies, things can get much more rough.